Dead μ'sic
by Akiyotame
Summary: An apocalyptic AU taking place during one of μ's summer camps. With Eli and Umi leading the group, it is up to their reliance on each other to keep each other alive. Will μ's be strong enough to survive until they can get rescued? Or will they suffer more losses than they could possibly predict?


"Alright is everybody here?!" Umi walked around the room to make sure the headcount was correct, "Okay all nine of us are here… what a relief…"

"What the heck was with that guy?! He was trying to bite me!" Rin shouted.

"It's okay, we're safe now, Rin," Hanayo held the usually energetic girl to help her calm down.

"Yeah, it's fine, Rin," Maki knelt down and pat her head gently, "We're just lucky that this summer home came equipped with tight security."

"What the heck is going on, girls?" Honoka asked.

"I'm not so sure myself, I've never seen anything like this happening before," Maki replied.

"What if they're… you know… infected?" Nozomi suggested.

"You mean like zombies?" Eli asked for clarification.

"But that man was very much alive!" Kotori answered.

"Don't yell at me, just let me think…" Nozomi held her chin in thought, "Maybe it's rabies?"

"That could be a possibility…" Maki answered.

A cell phone suddenly began ringing and Kotori was the first to move. It was a call from her mom, "Hello, Mom?"

"Kotori?! Kotori, are you safe?!"

"I'm fine, Mom. What's happening?" Kotori asked in panic. She quickly turned it on speaker for the rest of the group to hear.

"Don't come back home! The people are going crazy!"

"Mom?!"

"The news said it was an outbreak of rabies! Please, whatever happens, Kotori… Remember that your mother will always lo-"

The signal was suddenly cut off and all that was left was the beeping of an ended call. The atmosphere took a sudden shift and everyone looked at Kotori with worry.

"...t possible…?"

Kotori's words were barely audible until she looked up furiously at Maki and grabbed her shirt, "Is it possible?!"

"What?" Maki asked in confusion.

"You're studying to be a doctor! Is it possible for rabies to even do this?!" Kotori was pulled away from Maki and held in Umi's arms.

"Relax Kotori, we need to stay calm!"

"Let me go, Umi! My mom is in danger!" Kotori struggled until she fell to her knees in exhaustion.

Maki recomposed herself before she could answer, "It should be impossible for rabies to do this…"

"Well start explaining!" Nico shouted.

"... Normally, rabies would have an incubation period of several months. Even if someone were to be bitten, it wouldn't turn people quickly enough to cause a pandemic."

"Maybe it was some sort of mutation?" Hanayo asked.

Maki shook her head, "Nature wouldn't allow such a thing, even if it were to be artificially made."

"Then, how could this happen?" Honoka asked further.

"I don't know! Just… maybe it did happen and one strain was able to get through…" Maki answered with little confidence.

Eli took a deep breath to project her voice, "Okay… everybody just take a breather, we need to make a plan of action."

"I agree with Eli," Umi replied.

"Maybe we should call and make sure our parents and siblings are alright?" Honoka suggested.

"... The signals are probably shut down…" Kotori said quietly.

"I-It can't hurt to try," Honoka replied.

Maki nodded, "Yeah… I think it's better to get a grasp of the situation now than later…"

Kotori hung her head and Umi comforted her as best as she could. Shortly after everyone dispersed into separate rooms to get a hold of any family members. After a few moments, the group of girls reunited, all sharing the same face of dread.

"You're right, Kotori. The signals are down," Rin confirmed.

A silence fell upon the usual energetic group of girls until Umi spoke up, "Alright well… let's hold up inside this house until help comes."

"We should be fine for a while, Mama and Papa made sure this house was filled to the brim with food for us."

"We're good on supplies, but what about defense?" Eli asked.

The room went silent again, "Alright, everyone look around the house for a weapon. Knives, bats, anything," Umi commanded.

"Wait!"

Everyone stopped and looked at Eli, "We're going to need someone to lead us, now more than ever."

"She's right…" Nozomi added.

"I vote Umi," Honoka suggested.

"I think Eli would be a good candidate," said Hanayo.

The group members came to a split between who would lead the group, Umi or Eli.

"How about we do a dual leadership?" Umi suggested.

"I get your back and you get mine?" Eli replied with a small smile.

"We'll lead together, never apart," Umi replied with the same smile.

Eli nodded, "Alright, with that settled, let's hurry and find ourselves weapons."

Maki grabbed Rin and Hanayo, "I need you two to help me with the house."

"What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"I said the house came equipped with a security system, we need to make sure every door and window leading outside has been shut by the steel barriers."

"And what do we do if it isn't?" Hanayo asked.

"Then we have to pull them down ourselves," Maki answered. The first year trio nodded and split up to make sure every entrance was secured.

The third year trio scoured the house in search of anything that could be used as a weapon and brought it to the kitchen where the second years were taking a stock check on all the food.

"We found a few things, but these weapons will eventually break," Nico pointed out.

"I also saw a safe in an office upstairs, I think there might be a gun in there," Nozomi added.

"Does anyone know how to shoot a gun?" Honoka asked.

The first years joined the group in time to hear Honoka's question and everyone shook their heads before collectively looking at Umi.

"W-What?"

"Umi, you do archery right?" Eli asked.

"Y-yeah? What of it?" she replied.

"Then the gun should go to you!" Honoka blurted.

"Huh?! Just because I do archery doesn't mean I know how to shoot a firearm!"

"Well none of us know how to shoot a gun, and you're the type to learn things quickly," Eli explained.

Umi groaned, "Fine, I'll keep the gun…"

* * *

"Hey Honoka, how much food do we have left?"

Honoka held out a small can, "Just this last bit of tuna…"

Maki grabbed it and looked at the can with a depressed look, "Well… looks like we're all going to be a little hungry tonight.'

Maki grabbed a can opener and equally divided the can of tuna onto nine different plates. The proportions were depressingly small, "How were we able to go through that much food in a month?"

Kotori walked in and inspected the food, "It couldn't be helped… Once the power went out, a lot of the food became spoiled…"

"We should have salted and dried the meat," Nozomi mumbled.

"It's too late now, this is all we have left…" Nico said.

The small group of girl's gathered around and ate their last bit of food, "Thanks for the meal…"

Umi stood up and looked at the others, "... We need to make a scavenging team to go search for food and supplies."

"But, it's dangerous out there, Umi," Hanayo stated.

"We'll starve to death here if we don't do any scavenging…" Umi replied.

The group went silent, "I volunteer to go, but I need two or three of you to come with me so we can carry more supplies."

Hanayo hesitantly raised her hand, "I-I'll go with you…"

Umi shook her head, "No offense, Hanayo. But I need people with stamina so we can move quickly…"

"Maki and I can go with you," Rin volunteered.

"Ehhh?! Why do I have to go?" Maki protested.

"Maki, will you please come with Rin and I?" Umi pleaded.

"But why?! Why not Eli?" Maki pointed.

"You do remember what happened last week right? Without someone here to lead a defense against bandits, you could all die before we get back."

Maki went silent and looked at Eli, "F-Fine, but the second things start going wrong, I'm running back here."

Umi nodded, "Is that okay with everybody?"

She looked around and saw every member nod before walking up to Eli and handing her a revolver, "Here… There's some ammo left in the kitchen cabinet. You've got 12 rounds including the six already loaded in here."

Eli nodded and grabbed the revolver, "Stay safe out there, Umi. We can't lose you."

"I don't count on dying today," Umi replied.

* * *

The newly formed scavenging team separated into different rooms to get prepared for the upcoming task, Umi returned to her room and was followed by Kotori, "Umi, do you really plan on going out?"

"I have to, if I don't, we'll all die," Umi replied while changing into running gear.

"But what if you die? I don't think I can lose another person…" Kotori stepped closer and hugged Umi.

"... We don't know if your mother is dead yet… until then, all we can do is hope…" Umi pulled away from Kotori's arms and reached for the bat she kept by her bedside.

"Just… please stay safe out there, Umi," Kotori turned the girl around and gave her a quick kiss before leaving the room.

She touched her lips gently before swinging on a backpack and heading to the front door.

* * *

Rin made it back to her room and began prepping for the scavenging mission, she quickly changed into more athletic clothing and swung a backpack on before she was stopped by Hanayo.

"Be careful out there, Rin…" Hanayo kissed the girl's cheek and forced a hat onto her, "Here, for good luck."

Rin skipped to a mirror and saw that she was wearing a beanie with cat ears on it, "Thank you, Kayo-chin! I'm sure that your luck and blessing will shield me from any danger!"

Rin hugged Hanayo tightly, "I promise I'll return with a bunch of food…"

Hanayo nodded gently and was let go, "Alright, I've got to get going, Umi must be waiting."

* * *

"I'm just saying, stay safe out there!"

"Relax Nico, it's not like I volunteered myself!" Maki argued back.

"Well you still could have rejected the proposal!" Nico shouted.

Maki grabbed the small senior's arm, "You heard what Umi said, Eli needs to stay back to protect you all if a bunch of bandits come knocking on our front door."

"T-that's true but-"

"But what? No offense, but Umi said she needed people with stamina. That boils down to her, Eli, Rin and Me."

"Look… Just come home safe okay?"

"I'm not going to die today, and neither are any of you. We have to take these risks for the group."

Nico looked down before hugging the red head, "I'll kill you myself if you don't return…"

Maki smiled gently and pet the girl's head, "I know you will…"

* * *

The small scavenging team met up by the front door followed by the rest of the group, "Alright, don't open this door for anyone except for us. Even if it's someone that needs help, we don't know if they had been infected or if they're with bandits."

The rest of the group nodded and Umi looked at her team, "Are you two ready to go?"

"Where are we searching?" Rin asked.

"There's a small town nearby right? Let's try there first," Umi suggested.

Maki nodded and the team lifted the steel shielding high enough for them to get out, "Keep the girls safe until we get back, Eli."

"I promise I will," Eli replied before the steel shielding was dropped.

Umi stood back up and looked at the desolate world in front of her. Every few meters there was an abandoned and broken down car. Bodies laid on the street without the will to move any longer; the rotting flesh being pecked away by crows and other scavengers around the area.

"How much damage did this outbreak cause?" Rin asked in disbelief.

"At least we didn't have to see it when it was happening…" Maki replied.

"Come on you two, let's get moving before we're spotted by the infected," Umi tapped both girl's on the shoulder before running ahead.

"Or bandits," Maki added.

The two younger girls followed after Umi at a reasonable pace. She led the small group as carefully as she could, making sure to avoid the main road and any traps that bandits may have put out.

After a 20 minute run, the girls reached the edge of the small town, "Alright…" Umi took a second to catch her breath, "Maki, do you know this area well?"

"I've only been to this summer home enough to know the important places," Maki replied.

"Okay, let's make a plan before we head in…"

Maki thought for several minutes, "Okay… I know for sure there is a supermarket near the east end of the town. There's a much smaller one closer to us, and there are also a few gas stations placed around the town."

Umi nodded as Maki continued, "There should also be a hardware store a few blocks from the supermarket. There might be weapons there but I wouldn't count on it."

Umi rested back and thought of a plan of action, "It's been a month since the outbreak, I doubt there's anything at the supermarket that hasn't been picked up by looters."

"So should we head to the smaller market?" Rin asked.

Maki nodded, "It's a better shot than taking the supermarket, there could be less bandits if we take the smaller market route too."

"Alright, I'll lead and we'll scavenge around for other things while we're on our way there," Umi suggested.

The two first years nodded and followed behind their senior. The town was dreadfully quiet, every little noise made that wasn't from their footsteps sent them on high alert.

"What was that noise?" Rin asked cautiously.

"Just a bird, relax, Rin…" Maki reassured.

"Isn't it strange how we haven't seen any infected yet…?" Umi said out of the blue.

The two first years went silent after realizing it, "There should be infected here… right?"

"Maybe bandits or the defense force wiped them clean?" Maki answered.

"Then how come we never got word of a rescue?" Umi asked again.

"Then… what do you think is happening, Umi?" Rin asked back.

Umi shook her head, "I don't like it, but let's keep moving forward… let's be more careful and stick to the shadows… we might not be the only ones out here scavenging."

Maki nodded and looked back at Rin, "Make sure you're ready to swing that shovel when things go south."

* * *

Umi snuck forward and scouted the area before waving the other two over, "It looks like we're temporarily safe for now… at least as safe was we can get. See that store over there?"

Maki followed Umi's finger and saw a small firearms store, "Do you think we should scavenge through it?"

"It's worth a shot… With more weapons, we can hold out against bandits," Umi replied.

"Let's get going then," Rin insisted.

Umi held up her hand to relax the energetic girl, "There's movement inside the store… Let's get as close as we can before we attack."

The other girls nodded and the small group snuck their way to the entrance of the store, "Maki, can you hear anything?"

Maki listened closely until she heard a faint grumbling sound coming from inside, "I hear… something? It's not clear, but it doesn't sound human…"

Umi reached for her bat from her backpack and held it firmly before looking at the other two, "We attack together…"

The two girls nodded, "Alright on my go… ready… go!"

Umi rushed in first and caught a glimpse of the distorted figure in front of her. Fear and anxiety gripped her body but she fought through it just enough to swing her bat at the figure.

Her aim was off and the broader end of her bat smashed against what seemed to be the figure's neck. It stumbled to the side and Umi could hear it's bones cracking as it struggled to stay on it's feet.

"Umi watch out!" Maki lunged forward with a claw hammer and drove the claw end into the figure's leg.

It fell with a loud thud and the two girls backed away, "I-Is it dead…?" Rin asked nervously.

"I-I think so…?" Umi crept up and nudged the body with her bat. The second she made contact, the figure began moving once again.

"It's not dead!" Maki yelled.

"But I should have broke it's neck with my strike!" Umi panicked.

"Umi, look out!" Rin yelled and shoved her way past the other two. She raised her shovel and swung down, splitting the head in half.

Blood spattered from the wound and splashed onto their legs, "Oh my god…" Rin dropped the shovel and stumbled backwards.

Umi and Maki placed their hands on Rin's shoulders to get her to relax, "It's okay, Rin. It was either it or us."

"I-I don't know what came over me…" Rin muttered.

"It couldn't have been easy…" Maki replied.

Rin regained her balance and picked up her shovel, "You wouldn't believe how… easy it was…"

The trio stood around the body and looked at each other, "The head has to be the weakness…" Maki bent over and tugged her claw hammer out of the infected's leg.

Umi took a deep breath, "Okay, let's just look around for anything that we can bring back to the rest of the girls and get out before more of them come."

"Stick together and watch each other's backs," Maki suggested.

The other girls nodded and they traveled together through the store, making sure to keep their eyes peeled for any weapons or dangers that could be around.

"Hey check this out," Maki waved the other two around, "There's a lock, do you think there's anything inside?"

"It's worth a shot," Umi nudged Maki out of the way and prepared to swing down. With one swift swing, the lock was forced open, "There we go, you two head in. I'll stay by the door and keep a lookout."

"Let's go Rin," Maki grabbed her hand and pulled her in quickly.

Rin rummaged through most of the stock as quickly as she could. There wasn't much to begin with other than a few boxes of unused ammunition.

"Oh check this out!" Maki reached through a pile of rubbish and pulled out a case, "Maybe there's something in here."

She set down the case on a nearby table and opened it to see numerous firearm parts neatly aligned to be put together, "We should bring this back, whatever it is."

"It might be a pistol?" Rin guessed.

"Maybe… Go pack up that ammo over there, we'll need it," Maki ordered.

Rin saluted and quickly began stockpiling the remaining ammo boxes into her backpack, "And this should be the last on- Ahh!"

Rin looked up and fell backwards as something fell on top of her, "Maki help!"

"Rin? What's wrong?!" Maki ran over to see Rin tangling with what looked like a composite bow before giggling out loud.

"Stop laughing and help me!" Rin shouted.

"Alright, alright," Maki stepped over and picked up the bow before helping Rin up, "You think Umi would like this?"

"Are you kidding? Did you forget she was in the archery club?" Rin replied.

"I know, I was being sarcast- nevermind…" Maki turned away and looked around a little more, "Are there any arrows around?"

Rin pointed to a few arrows lying against the wall and picked them up, "Let's go surprise Umi with these!"

"Girls, we got to move," Umi rushed into view and waved her hand for them to hurry up.

The two first years bolted towards her, "What's wrong?"

"The entrance is surrounded by infected," Umi pointed.

Rin peeked from the doorway to see numerous infected gathering around the entrance, "Where did they all come from? There weren't any when we came in!"

"Is there a back entrance?" Maki asked.

"I'm not sure, but start looking. Quick before we're overrun," Umi commanded.

"You got it… Wait! Here, take these," Maki handed over the composite bow and the few arrows that they found.

"Cover us and take out any that try to get in," Rin continued.

Umi nodded and quickly sampled the bow to get a feel for it. It was easier to pull than her usual long bow, but it should pack a harder punch, "Thanks, now hurry on and find us an exit."

Umi ran to the middle of the store and prepared herself to shoot, "Okay… I can do this…"

She kept her eyes fixated on the infected that was the closest to the entrance, "... Huh? I could have sworn it just looked at me…"

She lowered the bow and stood up quietly before taking a few steps forward, "Why aren't they attacking yet? They're staring right at me…"

Umi paced around cautiously to try and get their attention, "Maybe their vision is terrible?" Umi knelt down and picked up a stray shard of glass before tossing it past the small horde.

There was no reaction from them until the glass shard hit the floor and shattered, causing the infected to turn their attention towards it, "They react to sound?"

"Umi! We found a way out!" yelled Rin.

Her heart skipped a beat and she looked back at the horde, their attention was back on the girls, "Oh no… run!"

Umi sprung off the balls of her feet towards Rin, "Where's the exit?"

"We found a ladder that leads to the roof," Rin answered.

"Alright, quickly get up there with Maki, I'll be right behind you," Umi looked back to see the store slowly fill up with more infected headed their way, "Hurry!"

Rin nodded and headed up the ladder. Once things were clear enough, Umi climbed up as quickly as she could before the infected could lay their hands on her.

Once she was clear, Maki slammed the steel hatch shut and took a deep breath, "That was a close one…"

"What if they climb up?" Rin asked nervously.

"I don't think they can…" Umi opened the hatch to see the horde of infected raising their arms up at them, "They don't seem to have any sort of intelligence…"

"How did you know?" Maki asked.

"While you two were looking for an exit, I tested a theory. The infected looked straight at me, but they didn't attack; however, once Rin yelled for me, they started coming after us," Umi explained.

"So does that mean they react by sound?" Rin asked.

Umi nodded, "We'll be fine… so long as we stay quiet and avoid confronting them when they're in groups."

"That doesn't seem all too dangerous, actually…" Maki commented.

"We still have to be careful around them… as long as the infected are around, we're in danger," Umi replied.

Rin looked around and over the edge to see a few stray infected scattered in front of the store, "So what now?"

"Is there a fire escape we can use?" Umi asked.

Maki pointed near the edge, "There's one right over there, but the ground is infested with a few infected."

Umi looked around the roof, "Is there anything up here we can use to distract them from us?"

"Here! I found a few leftover cinder blocks over here!" Rin announced.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" Maki yelled in a hush.

Rin shrunk back, "S-Sorry…"

Umi got up and picked up one of the cinder blocks, "Alright let's climb down as far as we can and then toss this, when their attention is taken, that's when we make a run for it."

The first years nodded and the trio quickly descended the stairs until they reached the last platform, "Alright, let's do this…"

Umi tossed the cinder block a few meters away from them and the few infected that patrolled the area started making their way towards the now smashed cinder block, "This is going to make more noise, so we have to move fast…"

Umi kicked the ladder and slid down as fast as she could, "Come on, hurry it up before they trap us."

Maki slid down shortly after and so did Rin, "Let's get away from here quick."

Umi led the group down the street as quickly and as quietly as she could, "Okay, the small market should be just up ahead, right Maki?"

Maki nodded and Umi looked around, "Come on, let's move..."

The trio carefully stepped away from their cover before something whizzed past Umi's face and chipped the ground, "Umi!" Maki pulled the blue haired girl back to the wall, the fear on Umi's eyes were clearly shown. This was the first time they had ever seen their senior like this.

"T-That was a bullet, wasn't it…?" she asked with a trembling voice. She brought her hands up to her face and began patting herself down, "I-I could have died! R-right there!" she pointed in horror.

Maki hugged the older girl tightly, "It's okay Umi, you're not dead. And you're not going to die here!"

"Who the hell is shooting humans?" Rin questioned.

"I-It has to be bandits!" Umi shouted.

Maki quickly covered the girl's mouth, "Shhh! Quiet down before the infected start surrounding us!"

Umi struggled to breathe but eventually she was able to calm down thanks to Maki, "T-Thanks Maki… for helping me calm down…"

Maki gently tapped Umi's head, "Sheesh… get it together, you're supposed to be our leader."

Umi gave a quick giggle, "Ahem, while you two are flirting, do I need to remind you that someone is trying to kill us?"

Umi quickly escaped from Maki's hug, "Y-You're right, we need to think of something quick…" she pressed herself against the wall and quickly peeked out only to fling herself back into cover when she spotted a glint followed by a shot.

"Whoever is shooting at us is across the street from the small market," Umi assured.

"What should we do?"

"The second we expose ourselves to this bandit, we'll be dead before we hit the ground, there has to be some way to-"

"Umi? What's wrong?" Rin asked.

Umi pointed beyond the two girls, "That dumpster…"

"Yeah, what about it?" Maki asked.

Umi jogged over and checked inside of it, "We can use that dumpster as a shield to get across."

"No way, it would be too heavy!" Maki objected.

Umi shook her head in response before knocking on the dumpster, "It's empty Maki, with the three of us, we should be able to move it without a problem."

"Okay… So we get from cover to cover using this, then what?"

"We keep using it until we get to the market. Once we're there, we'll ditch the dumpster and grab anything we can as quickly as we can."

"And an escape route?" Rin intruded.

Umi fell silent, "We'll come up with one, we have to…"

Maki stood up and got into position, "Alright. The quicker we do this, the quicker we'll get home!"

"This plan is crazy, but let's just do it!" Rin joined.

"Alright, Maki, make sure you don't stick your leg into view," Umi warned.

Maki nodded and the trio began their way across the open. The second they were out in the open, shots were fired at the dumpster, "Just keep moving and don't fall behind!" Umi yelled.

The trio went from cover to cover using the dumpster until they were able to make a run for the market. Once inside, they were safe for the time being, "Okay, move quick girls, we don't have a lot of time in here," Umi commanded.

The girls nodded and went off in separate directions to scavenge for food and supplies. Fortunately, they made a good choice and were able to find a considerable amount of food despite it being a smaller market.

"Holy cow, we got lucky!" Rin cheered.

"Yeah, my backpack is actually kind of heavy," Maki added.

"We're not out of the woods yet until we can make it back home…" Umi reminded.

"So… an escape plan…" Rin muttered.

"We need to find a way to get out of sight…"

"What if we waited until nightfall?" Maki suggested.

Umi looked at Maki with a concerned expression, "Are you crazy? We'll be at a bigger disadvantage than the bandit!"

"Hey, it was just a suggestion! I'm just saying, the bandit can't keep an eye on us forever, and they must go to sleep at some point!" Maki argued back.

"I'm going to have to side with Maki here, we can use the shadows to stay out of sight," Rin commented.

Umi sighed, "Fine… we'll wait until night comes. Until then, let's stay in the back away from any windows."

The trio nodded and took shelter until nightfall.

* * *

"I don't like this… They've been out for hours!" Nico paced around nervously.

"I agree, Rin should be back by now!"

Kotori stood up and faced Hanayo, "Just Rin? How about Umi?!"

"Or Maki?!" Nico added.

"Girls, calm down!" Eli yelled over them, "They're out there getting the supplies that we need to survive! If you wanted to guarantee their safety then you should have gone along with them!"

"Elichi…" Nozomi tugged on Eli's sleeve to get her to sit back down.

Eli took a deep breath, "Look, they're out there because they care about us. They're out there so that they can guarantee that all of us are safe here."

The room feel silent, Nico kept herself pacing around the room. Hanayo kept her seat by the viewing window, and Kotori sat alone twiddling her thumbs.

"C-come on girls, we don't need to fight. We're all just tired and hungry…" Honoka entered, "How about we get some rest?"

"I'm not moving until Umi comes back…" Kotori refused.

"Me neither," Hanayo stated.

Nico remained silent and kept her pace up. It was clear that Nico wasn't going to move either.

"Nozomi, how about you go get some sleep…" Eli suggested.

Nozomi hugged onto Eli's arm, "What about you?"

"Umi trusted me with the gun, I have to stay awake to make sure we don't get attacked by any bandits," she answered.

"I can wait…"

Eli pet Nozomi's head, "Go ahead and get some sleep, I'll be there soon once Umi and the others return."

Nozomi let go and got up, "Okay… Come on, Honoka. Let's go get some shut eye."

"Um… Yeah… Alright," Honoka followed behind Nozomi and the two eventually split off to go to their individual rooms.

A few hours passed into the night and the small group waiting for the return of the scavenging team were abruptly awoken by a knocking coming from the front door.

"Shhh everyone stay quiet," Eli commanded, "Kotori, Nico, blow out the candles. Hanayo, can you see who it is from the window?"

Hanayo squinted her eyes, "No, it's too dark to see… could they be bandits? Or the infected?"

The knocking came up again which unsettled the girls, "I don't like this…" Nico muttered.

"If it's Umi and the others, they would say something right?" Kotori asked.

"The knocking sounds… off… doesn't it?"

"Now that you mention it… it doesn't really sound like a knock…" Hanayo answered.

"Yeah… it sounds more… gentle? Like a thud rather than a knock," Nico added.

Kotori raised her hand, "They might be infected then?"

Eli nodded her head, "The way we watch them move would make more sense than if a human were to knock."

The knocking came to a stop before it suddenly turned into continuous banging, "OPEN THE DOOR, ELI!"

"That doesn't sound like infected to me!" Eli sprung into action and stood by the door, "Who is it?!"

"IT'S UMI, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR BEFORE WE GET BIT!"

She quickly grabbed onto the handle and pulled the steel barrier high enough for Umi, Maki and Rin to crawl through, "Close it, close it, close it!"

Eli slammed it shut before she felt something bash against it, causing her to fall back, "What the hell was chasing you guys?!"

"Shhh!" Umi quickly covered Eli's mouth. The other two girls silenced the other bystanders until the bashing came to a stop.

Umi took a deep breath and let go of Eli, giving a thumbs up to the other girls that it's safe. She helped Eli up and headed back to the area the group usually meets, "Umi! What took you so long?!"

Kotori ran forward and hugged her tightly, "I thought something bad might have happened!"

She wore a soft expression and pet the girl's head, "I'm fine, Kotori. But you need to stay quiet…" Umi looked at Maki and Rin before nodding.

The group sat down and laid out their loot, it was enough food to last them another week at most, "What happened out there?" Eli asked.

Umi took a deep breath and laid back on the couch before explaining everything up until nightfall.

* * *

"Oh my god, Umi! I can't believe those bandits shot at you!"

"That wasn't even the worst part…" Maki mumbled.

"What do you mean?! We could have lost Umi today!" Kotori argued.

"You don't understand…" Rin responded.

"What? What could be worse than losing one of our leaders?" Kotori continued to ask.

Umi held Kotori's hand, "That's enough, Kotori…"

"What happened next?" Hanayo asked.

Umi took a deep breath, "We decided that to avoid the bandit, we could use the cover of the night to make a getaway."

"So we waited until nightfall came and we started making our way back here," Rin continued.

"Everything was going fine until we heard this… growling sound," Maki added.

Umi nodded and looked at the rest of the girls, "We must absolutely NOT go outside during the night."

"Why?" Eli asked.

"They change…" Maki mumbled.

Hanayo tugged Rin back down to sit, "So that loud banging after you guys were safe inside was because of these changes?"

Umi nodded and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, "These infected… they normally move sluggishly and extremely slow. However, once night fell, they became faster, almost… human… they were fast and vicious…"

* * *

 _An hour ago._

"Alright… we should get moving now before it's too late."

"Here's the plan, we stick close to each other, I'll take point, Maki you watch our backs," Umi ordered.

The girls nodded in response, "We stay low and move fast, there's no telling what is out there," Umi opened the door and the group snuck up slowly to the front entrance. She peeked out to see if she can get a glimpse of where the bandit sniper was, but she couldn't spot anything.

"Maybe they got tired and went to sleep?" Rin asked.

"I don't know about that… we should be easy targets and by the look of things… there aren't many scavengers running around these parts," Umi replied.

"So what? Is the bandit hiding from us or trying to ambush us?" Maki asked further.

"That could be a possibility, but we have no time to dwell on that. I don't see the bandit and this is our chance to move from cover to cover," Umi looked back at her team before smiling, "We'll make it through this, I promise."

The other girls smiled in response to Umi's uplifting words and followed closely behind her as they moved from cover to cover.

"It's so dark…" Maki commented.

"I found some flashlights while we were in that market, should we use them?" Rin asked.

"I think we're clear from bandit territory, it should be okay to use them. The infected wouldn't be able to see us anyways," Umi stopped in her tracks to wait for a flashlight. She stood up and turned it on, "We should pick up the pace, as long as we're faster than them, we'll be fine."

Maki turned on her flashlight and nodded along with Rin, "Yeah, let's get moving."

Umi started into a light jog and the others followed after her, "You know… despite what happened today, scavenging isn't as terrible as I thought it would be."

Rin let out a small laugh, "I imagined that it would be much worse, to be honest."

"I made a bet that we wouldn't even last a day," Maki commented.

"A bet with who? Yourself?" Umi teased.

"S-Shut up! I was just trying to add to the conversation."

"Maki, you're so tsun tsun," Rin joked.

"No I'm not!" Maki yelled in a hushed volume.

Umi and Rin laughed until they heard an unsettling growling noise, "D-Did you hear that?"

"Stop it you two, this isn't the time to be joking around," Maki pointed out.

"Are you making that noise, Rin?" Umi asked.

"Huh? Of course not. I can't growl like that."

The trio stopped in their tracks, "Maki, use your flashlight to check our perimeter behind us."

Maki nodded and did as she was told, "There's nothing behind us."

"Alright, now it's my turn to chec-" the instant Umi turned her attention towards the front, her flashlight illuminated a small horde of infected with their attention fixed on them.

Umi opened her mouth to scream but it was covered quickly by Rin, "Don't scream, Umi."

She quickly calmed down and pried Rin's hand away from her mouth, "Thanks Rin… we should be fine as long as we go around them without making any sound."

The trio carefully made their way around the horde and into the clearing, "Phew… we made it."

"Rin, look out!" Umi pulled Rin away from where she was standing before a fire bomb landed in her place.

"What the- they did plan an ambush!" Maki yelled.

"Now's not the time, Maki, RUN!" Umi screamed. Loud bangs echoed across the town as they could see flashes whiz past them.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Maki sprinted ahead and the other two followed after her.

"Why during the night?! They easily could have attacked us when we were in the market!" Rin shouted.

"I don't know, just keep moving!"

Umi looked back and her eyes widened, "G-Girls? We have to pick up the pace, NOW!"

"What's gotten you so paranoi-" Maki glanced back to see the large horde from earlier sprinting after them.

"What the hell?! I thought that they couldn't run!" Rin shouted.

"Save your breath and just run!" Umi yelled.

Maki took a deep breath to keep her stamina up, "This had to be their plan all along! They didn't want to waste their time killing us, they wanted the infected to do it!"

"Maki watch out!" Umi pointed in front of her and Maki turned just in time to duck underneath the infected's grab. She pulled out her claw hammer and drove it into the infected's skull before it fell over.

"To your right!" Umi warned.

Maki turned to see another infected lunge at her and grab her leg, "Let go of me you dead freak!"

"Maki!" Rin ran forward with her shovel and slashed down at the infected's arms with enough force to sever them.

"Jesus christ, Rin!" Maki yelled.

"Just go!" Rin pushed Maki into a run.

"What about Umi?" Maki asked in panic.

"A LITTLE HELP OVER HERE!" Umi screamed. She was on the ground fending off an infected with her bow. It bit at her relentlessly until Maki rushed over and kicked it off of her.

"Come on, we have to keep moving forward!" she pulled Umi up and the trio broke into a desperate sprint.

"Rin watch out!" Umi pulled up her bow and shot an arrow that narrowly whizzed past Rin's head and into an infected in front of her.

"Thanks, Umi!" Rin pushed the infected down, "Maki grab the arrow."

She nodded and pulled the arrow out as she passed the infected, tossing it back to Umi, "Gotta save what ammo we have, right?"

"Thanks, we're almost home. Just get some air in your lungs and keep running!" Umi yelled.

"I can see the house!" Rin shouted.

"I can also see some infected by the door, Rin let's take care of them quickly!" Maki suggested.

The two sprinted ahead of Umi and took care of the infected. Rin was able to use her shovel to sever the head off one of the infected while Maki used her claw hammer to smash the other's skull in.

"Watch out, you two!" Umi quickly fired two arrows and the two infected behind Rin and Maki fell to the ground.

The two first years quickly pulled the arrows out and Umi ran past them, banging on the door, "OPEN THE DOOR, ELI!"

"Who is it?!"

"Get that damn door open already, the infected are coming!" Maki yelled.

"IT'S UMI, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR BEFORE WE GET BIT!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

* * *

"It was a miracle that we were even able to make it back without any injuries," Maki continued.

"You have no idea how much harder they are to kill during the night…" Rin finished.

"You mean… you three actually… killed some of them?" Hanayo asked with a face full of disbelief.

Umi stood up to show the blood on her clothes, "It was either us or them, Hanayo. We had no choice but to fight back."

"I-I know but… actually killing them…" Hanayo's words became unaudible.

"A-Anyways, other than food, what else were you three able to find?" Eli changed the subject.

"Well we were able to pick up a few flashlights and gas lamps while at the market," Maki answered.

Umi pulled out the new bow, "We were able to find this as well with a few arrows."

"That's great, the more weapons we find, the better," Eli replied.

Umi nodded, "So you keep that revolver with you handy."

"Oh that's right!" Rin grabbed her backpack and pulled out the boxes of ammo she was able to scavenge, "We found quite a bit of ammo, I'm not exactly sure which one your gun uses but it's nice to have some extra ones in case we find more guns."

Maki also pulled out a case from her backpack and opened it, "I also found this case that has a bunch of gun parts. I think we're supposed to put it together ourselves."

"I can probably figure it out," Eli replied.

Umi nodded, "We also found a few blades that we can use that are more effective than the kitchen knives we have." She pulled a few weapons from her backpack which varied in size.

"A machete, I think they call this one a bowie knife? And a… what is this?" Eli held up a strangely shaped blade that curved forward.

Umi shrugged, "We had to grab what we could, there wasn't much time."

Eli sighed, "Well… Good job, you three. If we can keep making scavenging trips this successful while avoiding the night, we might actually survive through this all."

"Let's hope for the best…" Umi finished.

* * *

After a few months, the group's morality had dropped to an all time low.

"What do you mean this was all you could get?!" Eli yelled.

"Look, scavenging isn't easy, Eli!" Umi argued back, "Its been months since the outbreak, of course supplies are going to eventually run out!"

Eli took a deep breath before continuing, "T-There has to be more you can get from the town or something!"

"We looked EVERYWHERE, Eli! There's nothing left to scavenge!" Umi yelled back.

"Jesus christ, would you two just quit it already?!" Maki pushed the two of them apart and pointed at Eli, "Listen, Eli. Umi is telling the truth, there is nothing left out there for the three of us to scavenge," she turned to face Umi next, "And you, stop yelling and making things worse!"

Umi opened her mouth to counter with something but couldn't think of anything to say. She sat down and looked up at Eli, "I-I'm sorry…"

Eli shook her head, "No… I overreacted too…"

"It's just… being out there everyday, risking our lives to find even one can of food to feed the nine of us…" Umi leaned onto her knees and rubbed her eyes.

Eli massaged the back of her neck before responding back, "I understand… I'm sorry for saying those things to you…"

The room filled with silence before they heard a knock from nowhere. The group looked up to see Honoka and Nozomi standing by a doorway with smiles on their faces, "Girls, that radio that you brought back a week ago, we finally got it to work!"

"Yeah… and?" Rin urged them to continue.

Nozomi stepped forward, "We picked up on a rescue signal! Apparently there have been weekly rescues going on for the past few months and we were left in the dark about it."

"That's great! When's the next rescue?" Hanayo asked.

"In a few days, they've been using Otonokizaka as a safe haven for rescues," Honoka answered. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway,

"I think it's time for a homecoming, girls."


End file.
